guardian of the storm | ✓

Chapter Fifty-Three ~ Goodbyes

~Chapter Fifty-Three~

It was warm enough for the snow to start turning to slush, but not warm enough for it to melt into puddles. A chill still clung to the air, but spring had started to make its appearance in the small shoots of grass that poked up in random places. Three months had passed since the Fourth Great Ninja War and life went on. The Storm Village had become an official village, although it was still shrouded in mysteries and rumors, and it had started to blossom into the great village it had been before.

The remaining Originals— Emiko, Ja'far, Sairen, Daiki, and Eien —busied themselves with work to try and dull the aching pain that came from losing four of their closest friends. While the war had tipped in their favor, Kishi and Kuki had perished in the final moments, leaving them with four empty chairs that they couldn't bare to remove from the meeting room just yet.

The war had affected them all in different ways. Sairen had the most visible change, with the scales framing her face still that soft gray, her hair leached of most of its color leaving it a very light purple, and the dark jewels on her forehead still lingering with ancient energy. She was quieter now, but she'd taken the responsibility of taking care of the three orphans Aexstra had saved.

Those three children were helping heal her ravaged heart.

Emiko and Daiki were often seen together, helping each other through the pain and also taking charge of the village. With Winter gone, the mantle of leader would naturally fall to Eien, but the black haired boy had changed the most out of all of them.

Once the war was finished he tried desperately to summon Winter's spirit to the surface, even if it was so he could talk to her one last time. He never succeeded. He became even more withdrawn, spending days on end within his room, researching why he couldn't contact Winter and attempting several more times.

He still hasn't given up on try to contact his dead twin.

Ja'far kept a nice front for his fellow shinobi, but beneath that well crafted mask was a breaking teenager. He missed Winter desperately, missed their random conversations and duels that would split the earth. But, time moved on, and so Ja'far focused on becoming stronger, on becoming faster, on expanding his Kekkai Genkai so he could protect those he still had. He trained and trained and trained, knowing that the shinobi world was never a safe one.

Snow crunched underfoot as Eien quietly walked into the clearing where Ja'far was currently beating up a tree, sweat dripping down his face. He paused and looked at Eien, wiping his forehead with the back of his arm.

"Come with me." Eien murmured, turning around and walking away from the clearing, his slender shoulders curled forward slightly like the weight of the world rested on them. Ja'far quickly put away his weapons and jogged to his side, his breath showing in the cool air with each exhale. The two walked side by side in a silence that was almost comfortable, but not quite.

Eien led him deep into the forest, following the twists and curves of trees as his guide, and eventually, they came to a stop in front of a towering pine tree that stretched up so far Ja'far couldn't see the top. It took him a moment to realize the thick roots of the tree wrapped around a stone door, one that was worn down and chipped from long years of harsh weather. Eien presses his hand against the door and a surge of chakra flows over the area, sending a shiver down Ja'far's spine.

The door swings open smoothly, light filtering in through the tree branches to show the barest outline of stairs descending. Eien stepped through the doorway, not waiting to see if Ja'far was following as he started to walk down the stairs.

Ja'far did follow, albeit a bit hesitantly, and felt the cool air kiss against his skin as he sunk deeper underground. The walls were smooth with bits of unique stones embedded within that let off a faint glow, illuminating a spiraling staircase that ended so far below he wondered just how long it took someone to dig this deep. Their footsteps echoed softly around the space, the air getting colder and a bit stale as they reached the bottom.

Eien pauses, his hand resting lightly against another door, this one carved with a single symbol— the form of a wolf curling around the kanji for storm. "What I'm about to show you is one of the most sacred places for my clan. Outsiders are very rarely accepted inside, so you must never tell anyone of this place or what's inside it, understood?"

Ja'far nodded, his curiosity peaking as Eien slid the door open. The two walked inside, a still air enveloping them.

The walls were decorated with elaborate carvings, and there was another staircase near the back, but then Ja'far looked at the ceremonial-like, stone table in the center of the room. The air rushed out of Ja'far's lungs and stumbled forward as if in a daze, his feet taking him closer and closer. He stopped shakily once he was close enough to touch the shimmering dome that encased the person laying perfectly still on top of the slab of stone.

Even in death, Winter Ookami looked beautiful.

The blood had been cleaned off of her body and someone had changed her into a red and black outfit that wasn't torn to shreds. Ja'far took a shaky breath, his hands curling into loose fists as a wave of emotion washed over him. He suddenly looked over at Eien, "The coffin we buried... was that empty?"

Eien nodded almost solemnly. "Just like many ninja, Winter's body could be used for a criminal's gain. That's why she's in here, however the jutsu that's preserving her body is almost complete, so I'll have to take her down and put her with the others." He looked evenly at Ja'far, "The Ookami always bury their own with the others of the clan."

Ja'far glanced at the other staircase and felt ill, wondering how many bodies were beneath him.

"Since you're not allowed down there, I figured I'd let you see her one last time." Eien paused for a moment before whispering, "To say goodbye..." Ja'far watched the black hair boy leave and wondered for a moment how many times he'd come down into this room, how many times he'd tried to talk to his sister, how many times he failed and was left with his suffocating thoughts.

Ja'far stayed quiet for a moment, trying to gather his thoughts, to try and create some grand speech that would convey his feelings to the girl laying there. A very, very dead girl. And without warning, a burst of anger flares up in his chest, a red hot feeling that consumes his body.

"I hate you." He mutters, looking down at her pale skin leached of life, "I hate you for leaving me behind, for sacrificing your life when you had so much ahead of you. I hate that you won't get to grow old, or see your dream come true. I hate you because you were so selfless and just so selfish at the same time. You never let me know one hundred percent what you were thinking, and so I couldn't figure out what you were doing until you'd already done it."

His throat felt raw and his heart was beating painfully, his chest aching. "But most of all, I hate myself for not being able to save you." His fingers trailed along the edge of the table, brushed against her hair, and gently touched her fingers one last time.

Then, Ja'far turned away from Winter and walked away.

so, i'm not dead. 

for those of you that do not know, i am officially on hiatus until... well i don't really know when. probably once i've taken the act and am completely caught up on all my schoolwork. sorry for the crappy chapter, but i felt bad that i hadn't update this story in so long. 

QotC: what grade are you in?